How Temple’s Italian job affects the Spurs

Garrett Temple hadn’t donned a Spurs jersey in a little more than seven months, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been on the Spurs’ minds.

Even after the Spurs waived Temple in November, after a poor training camp and preseason that baffled coaches and front office personnel alike, team officials kept close tabs on Temple’s progress.

When Temple signed 10-day contracts with Milwaukee, and then Charlotte, his former bosses in San Antonio figured eventually the rest of the league would get wise, and the former LSU standout — a revelation for the Spurs at the end of the 2009-10 season — would find a permanent home.

“Sometimes it just takes a change of scenery,” one Spurs coach told the Express-News back in May, reflecting on the curious case of Garrett Temple. “Everywhere he went, we thought that team had themselves a find.”

Yet Temple never stuck. He finished last season as the Bobcats third point guard behind D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston.

Now, Temple is headed to Italy, signing a one-year deal that will keep him out of the NBA free-agent pool if the lockout ever ends. What does this mean for the Spurs?

If you haven’t noticed, and some of you have, the Spurs have a clear and present opening behind Tony Parker at backup point guard.

George Hill is in Indiana. Chris Quinn is headed to Russia. It is assumed newly drafted Cory Joseph might begin his rookie season in the Development League. Gary Neal is all but certain to get some run at point next season, but he is unproven at that position.

Assuming Gregg Popovich doesn’t plan to give Parker the Monta Ellis treatment — 48 minutes a night — the Spurs are going to have to find a backup lead guard on the free-agent market, whenever it opens for business.

Had he been available, Temple — who can play and guard three positions — likely would have been on the Spurs to-call list. He has experience running the Spurs system, had still had some high-ranking fans in the Spurs organization. He also would have come at the right price for a No.2 or No. 3 point guard (i.e., veteran minimum).

As it stands, Temple will be doing his balling en italiano next season, with no opt-out clause in case the lockout ends. And the Spurs’ pool of potential backup point guards just got one man shallower.